Automatically-adjustable bearing



June 12, 1923. 1,453,658

0. M.- LEIGH AUTOMATICALLY ADJUSTABLE BEARING Filed April 24 1918 figj Z4 /0 2:

mm-inn Patented June 12, 1923.

UNITED STATES 1,458,658 PATENT OFFICE.

OSCAR M. LEIGH, or GENOA, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOB TO LEIGH ELECTRIC COMPANY, or

GENOA, ILLINOIS.

AUTOMATICALLY-ADJUSTABLE BEARING.

Application filed April 24, 1918. Serial No;v 230,446.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, OSCAR M. LEIGH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Genoa, in the county of De Kalb and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Automatically-Adjustable Bearings, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact descr1ption, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this spec1 fication. I

My invention relates to automatically adjustable bearings, an object being to provide a device of this character in whlch wear of the bearing is automatically taken up so that the shaft, during normal operation, is maintainedwithout undue play but freely movable.

My invention is particularly applicable to apparatus in which it IS essential to maintain an easily operable rotatable ele ment such as a shaft but in which no undue free play of the shaft is to be permitted under normal operating conditions. To this end I preferably employ a shaft seated against bearing balls so as to permit an easy operation of the shaft, and in which the balls are yieldingly held agalnst the shaft bearing so as to automatically maintain the ball-bearing in close adjustment by taking up any wear as it occurs.

For a better understanding of my invention reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing in which: 1

Fig. 1 is a face view of an electric switch device employing my invention as it is mounted on a wall;

Fig. 2 is a top view of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical cross section along the line 33 of Fig. 2, that is through the shaft and bearing of the switch device; and

Fig. 4 shows my invention applied to a device having a rotatable shaft, such as a motor.

Referring now more particularly to the detailed construction of the form of my in vention as shown in Figs. 1 to 3, it comprises an electrically operated circuit making device including a shaft '5, carrying an armature 6 suitably attached to the opposite end of the shaft and co-operating with a polarized electromagnet. This electromagnet comprises a pair of coils 7 8 suitably mounted upon a non-magnetic bracket 9,

each coil having its core extended through the magnet and secured'by means of a pairof nuts 10 threaded upon the core. Suitable permanent magnets 11, 12 are provided for polarizing the ele'ctromagnet in the usual manner so as to permit operation of the armature by means of alternating current. It is, of course, to be understood however, that I am simply referring to this particular means of actuating the shaft by way of illustration and that my invention is by no means limited to such a construction.

The shaft 5 also carries a contact operat ing plate 14 preferably of non-magnetic material and to which is attached a plurality of contacts 15 which cooperate with the sta-- tionary contacts 16, the contacts 16 being mounted upon an insulating plate 17 supported by the bracket 18. These contacts 16 are shown at one side only of the contact plate 14, but it will be apparent that similar elements may be attached to the opposite bracket 19 to cooperate with the corresponding side of the contact plate 14.

The device is mounted upon a suitable base 13 having lamp sockets 33 mounted therein to carry lamps to act as resistance elements in the circuit.

In contact making devices of this character it is important that the movable con tact element be freely operable but it is essential that the proper adjustment be maintained between the closely related contacts, the air gap of which is usually very small. Machines of this characterare frequently placed under dust proof covers and operated continuously for many hours day after day. Proper adjustment must be maintained between the contacts in order to maintain an even operation of the device. To this end I provide an automatic wear take-up in the nature of an automatically adjustable ball bearing for the shaft, which permits a free oscillation thereof and takes up the wear at the bearing as it occurs. For this purpose I preferably provide cone shaped or pointed bearings 20, 21 on the ends of the shaft. These bearings extend into contact with hearing balls 22, 23 suitably supported in adjustable recessed nuts or studs 24, 25 which are threaded into arms 26, 27 upon the bracket 9 and held by lock nuts 28, 29. The upper stud 24 carries an automatically adjustable means for the bearing comprising a slidable plug 30 yieldingly held against the bearing balls 22 by means of a helical spring 31, this spring 31 being of the proper resiliency to suitably hold the shaft against longitudinal and transverse displacement during normal operation. The lower end of the shaft rests upon the bearing balls 23 which are held in the recess of the lower bearing nut 25, the lower bearing being preferably non-yieldable although it will be apparent that both ends may be yieldable if desired, or either the top or bottom bearing automatically adjustable depending upon the use to which the device is put.

In the initial adjustment of the shaft 5 the lower nut 25 is moved so as to support the shaft in its proper position relative to the contacts and electromagnets and then the upper nut 24: is adjusted until the shaft is suitably held against longitudinal and transverse movement normally. That is the tension is such that the shaft will not be moved out of position under normal operating conditions. The shaft may now be osillated and as the bearings wear, the spring plug 31 exerts a downward pressure on the bearing balls 22 and thus the shaft 5 is maintained against a longitudinal and transverse displacement during normal operation.

Fig. i shows my invention applied to a rotatable shaft as in a motor, the shaft 5 differing slightly in that a small tip extends between the balls which fit between the tip and stud 24, I also provide a central hole in the slidable plug 30 so that it may move over the tip of the shaft. The other end of the shaft bearing 27 may be yieldable or rigid as in Figs. 1 to 3 just as desired.

For the purpose of illustrating my invention I have chosen several preferred applications thereof but I contemplate applying it in other ways than shown. Also changes and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art and therefore I do not desire to be limited to the exact structures shown and described but aim to cover all that which comes within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A device of the character described comprising a shaft having tapered ends and adjustable ball bearings for both ends of said shaft, said shaft being provided with means to automatically take up wear and permit a slight lateral play of said shaft, said means comprising a spring pressed follower engaging one set of said bearings and adapted to move the same against the tapered end of said shaft, and thereby move the opposite tapered end of said shaft against the other of said ball bearings, said spring yielding to permit said tapered ends to ride along said balls to allow slight lateral play of said shaft.

2. In a device of the character described, a shaft having a cone shaped portion and an adjustable bearing therefor adapted to antomatically take up wear, said bearing com prising a hollow bearing member, a follower freely outwardly slidably mounted therein, bearing balls mounted between the cone shaped portion of said shaft and said follower, and spring means mounted between the bottom of said bearing member and said follower whereby said bearing balls are yieldingly held in engagement with said shaft and said follower, to provide for slight lateral play of said shaft due to a lateral drag on said shaft, said spring means cooperrating with said balls to center said shaft when said lateral drag is removed.

3. In a device of the character described. a shaft having cone shaped end portions, and adjustable bearings therefor, one of said bearings comprising a hollow stud adjustable longitudinally of said shaft, a freely outwardly movable follower slidably mounted therein, a coil spring between said follower and the bottom of said stud, and bearing balls between the conical end of said shaft and the wall of said stud whereby said shaft is adjustably and yieldingly mounted so as to take up wear at said bearings and to permit a slight lateral movement of said shaft relative to said bearings when a transverse force is acting thereon, said spring recentering said shaft when said force ceases to act.

In witness whereof I hereunto subscribe my name this 16th day of April, A. I)., 1918.

OSCAR M. LEIGH. 

